"Or what? You planning to sleep here tonight, Vinny? Curl up with a nest of demonic serpents?" Aesphyra teased, arching a brow.

"So all that time we spent in there was just to make my legs go numb, huh?!" Vinny snapped back. "I really thought you were sitting around all afternoon 'cause you had something important to do. But you didn’t do anything—now you just get up and say we’re leaving?!"

"Ahhh? Didn’t I do what I came to do already?" Aesphyra blinked at him with a strange expression.

"What? What the hell did you do?!" Vinny was baffled. From the moment they arrived, he hadn’t relaxed for even a second. Meanwhile, Aesphyra conjured a magical bench, lounged on it all afternoon like royalty, and looked like she was one tea set short of a full-on red-tea ceremony.

And seriously, what the hell was up with her spell selection? The white-haired nutcase had learned such a wide variety of magic—even weird ones like "conjure fancy magic bench" that had no use besides sitting around looking fancy. And not just any bench, either—it had that luxurious cushion simulation effect, which required absurd amounts of magical fine control. Most people wouldn't waste their training on trash like that.

But for the heaven-blessed female lead? Apparently, none of that mattered. She had the talent to pick up useless cosmetic spells just to show off.

Still... couldn’t she have conjured a second bench? Let him sit down too? No, she just sat there all smug while he stood around like an idiot until his legs went numb—only to turn around and say, "Nothing happened. Let’s go."

Vinny was honestly starting to wonder if Aesphyra was trolling him on purpose.

Speechless, he could only follow her out of the cave once she dispelled her magic bench. Together, they returned to the village.

"So... what’s our next step?" Vinny asked once they were back in their room.

"Next step? Obviously, we keep acting. Can’t break character now," Aesphyra said lazily.

"Huh? Acting? Character??" Vinny couldn’t follow her logic anymore. He thought today’s trip to the Serpent Den had been for something important. But all they did was wander a bit, then sit there all afternoon doing absolutely nothing. Now they were just done?

"Mhm~" Aesphyra didn’t bother explaining. She opened the door and left Vinny alone to stew in confusion.

That white-haired nut was addicted, wasn’t she? Obsessed with acting mysterious and feeding him riddles he couldn’t solve?

Vinny sighed and gave up. Fine. Let her be responsible for everything.

The next few days followed the same bizarre pattern. Every morning, Aesphyra would knock on his door and ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) drag him off to “investigate” the Serpent Den. And every time, she conjured her magic bench and sat there doing absolutely nothing until evening.

What the hell was this supposed to be?

Vinny felt like he was running in circles. Every day was packed with activity, and yet... he had no clue what they were actually doing.

He even asked if he could bring a stool and some snacks next time. Aesphyra shot that down immediately.

"Vinny, don’t tell me you think we’re playing house?" she said with a smile.

Isn’t that exactly what they were doing?

Vinny had no words. He had no idea what any of this was supposed to accomplish. Time kept passing, and the deadline for their practical exam report was creeping up. From his perspective, they’d made zero progress.

They still didn’t even know what was hiding in the village.

Vinny remained on high alert every time they were in the village. He kept waiting for something—anything—to happen. If something really was lurking in secret, surely it would get antsy and attack, right? But... nothing. Not a peep. The village was too quiet. So quiet it made Vinny question whether that whole illusion attack he experienced had even happened at all.

A few more days passed. Finally, Aesphyra did something different.

Just when Vinny thought they were finally about to take action... she walked out carrying her luggage.

"...Why are you holding your bags?"

"Why else? Time to leave. We’ll say goodbye to the old village chief and the good priest, and then we head home."

"...Huh??" It took Vinny several seconds to even form a response.

"Wait, that’s it?! We’re just leaving? After all this time—running around doing god-knows-what—we’re just gonna bounce? What the hell were we doing then?!"

"What else could we do, Vinny? Let me ask you something. In all these days, did we uncover anything useful?" Aesphyra raised an eyebrow.

"We didn’t uncover anything?! What about that time when—"

"If I recall correctly, we came here to deal with a serpent infestation, yes?" she tilted her head. "We’ve been here for days. Aside from a few snake carcasses and one straggler, we haven’t seen a single demonic serpent. If there were really a serpent crisis, would Lake Village be this peaceful?"

"Obviously, there’s nothing here anymore. We were late. The situation was resolved before we arrived. So, there’s no point in sticking around."

"......" Vinny stared at her with a strange expression.

"Come on. Let’s go check in with Priest Farkas. Let him file a report on our behalf. We’ll be able to turn that in for our exam."

With Aesphyra already walking off ahead, Vinny had no choice but to pack up and say his goodbyes too.

“You’re both leaving?” the old village chief asked as he saw them with their luggage.

“Yes, sir,” Aesphyra said politely. “We’ve been investigating for quite some time, but apart from a few leads early on, we found nothing in the end. You were right—seems like all the serpents really were exterminated.”

“I see. So, are you heading straight back to Carillian Academy?” the old man asked, leaning on his cane.

“We are. We need to report back. Thank you for your hospitality these past few days. Please take care of yourself.” Aesphyra turned to go.

“Please, wait,” the old man called out suddenly.

“Yes, sir?”

“It’s like this... I’m half in the grave already. I’ve got no family left—only my little grandson. Once I die, he’ll have no one left to care for him.” He hesitated. “Would it be too much to ask for you to take him with you? I just... don’t want him trapped in this backward little village for the rest of his life, never seeing the world.”

Vinny’s instincts immediately flared. Something about the man’s words felt off. Like there was something deeper he wasn’t saying out loud.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Aesphyra replied without hesitation. “We’re just students from Carillian Academy. We don’t have the authority to bring others into the Academy or keep them there.”

Vinny glanced at her thoughtfully.

“I see... Forgive me for making such a rude request.” The old man sounded disappointed—resigned, even. Like he’d already expected rejection.

Aesphyra shook her head to show it was no trouble, then led the way as they left the courtyard.

Behind them, the old man watched their backs with a heavy sigh.

They soon reached the village chapel and knocked. As always, Farkas opened the door promptly to greet them.

"You're here early today. What’s the occasion?" Farkas asked, though his eyes quickly picked up on the luggage they carried.

"We’re here to say goodbye, Father Farkas," Aesphyra said. "Thank you for your hospitality."

“Oh? You’re returning to the Academy?” he asked. “I’ve contacted the church about this matter, but as you know, things have to go through proper channels. It’ll take time.”

“There’s no need anymore,” Aesphyra sighed. “Aside from a few hints early on, we found nothing. Not a single serpent all this time. We must’ve overreacted.”

“But if we return empty-handed, our practical exam score will take a hit. So we’d like to ask you a favor.”

“A favor?” Farkas’s face was calm, but a flicker of satisfaction passed through his eyes.

“We’d like you to help us finalize our report. As a priest of the church, could you confirm that we conducted all possible investigations, followed every suspicious lead, and concluded that Lake Village’s serpent infestation has been fully resolved?”

“You want me to vouch for you? Of course. Happy to help.” Farkas agreed easily.

“Thank you.” Aesphyra handed him the report scroll with a smile of gratitude.

Farkas sat at his desk, pulled out a feathered pen, and wrote several lines summarizing the case and noting that the church had taken over the matter. He handed the scroll back.

"How’s this, young lady?"

“Perfect. Thank you very much for your help.” Aesphyra gave a small bow.

“No trouble at all. If you ever need assistance, just ask.”

Vinny wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Farkas only ever looked at Aesphyra. Like Vinny wasn’t even there.

“Well then, Father Farkas. We’ll be on our way.”

“May the Goddess bless you both,” the priest said devoutly, crossing his chest as he watched them leave.

After they’d walked far enough away—far beyond the edge of the village—Farkas finally exhaled and shut the door. A curious smile curved on his lips.

He went into the back room and eagerly pried up a floor tile, retrieving a scroll etched with glowing blue script.

Closing his eyes, Farkas held the scroll in both hands. Cold, flame-like light began to consume the parchment until it dissolved into nothingness.

"Good thing that silver-haired girl didn’t interfere. Heh... If she weren’t a Carillian Academy student, I wouldn’t have let her go so easily," Farkas chuckled. "Soon... it’ll all be complete."

Night fell.

The border village, already quiet by day, now lay utterly dead under the black veil of night. Not a soul on the streets.

In the darkness, a pair of winged shadows descended silently upon the pristine chapel roof—wings as black and sharp as thunderclouds.

Inside the chapel, Farkas sat calmly, a kettle of steaming water on the table before him. Clearly, he was waiting for someone.

A fierce wind blasted through, throwing shadows across the walls. The door slammed open—then shut with a heavy thud.

"My esteemed lady, you’re finally here." Farkas looked across the table at the tall, beautiful woman with long, wavy red hair, eyes lit with fanatic devotion.

She wore tight black clothes. Black horns curved from her head, black wings spread behind her, and a black heart-tipped tail swayed behind her.

These were not the traits of any human.

"Our plan is almost complete, my lady," Farkas said, rising excitedly—only for the red-haired woman to plant a heel on his chest and shove him back.

"Don’t touch me, human. Know your place—you’re just livestock that bowed to me," she sneered. "You called me here in such a rush. I assume you’ve completed your task?"

"Not yet. But nearly. If you’ll allow it, tonight Lake Village will become a nest for your kin," Farkas promised eagerly.

“Tonight? That soon? Didn’t a pair of troublesome little pests show up recently?” she asked, frowning. “Why didn’t you just kill them? Or capture them and use them as food? You better have a good reason for stopping me.”

“They’re Carillian Academy students. If something happened to them, the Academy would investigate. That would ruin everything. Your top priority right now is secrecy, isn’t it?” Farkas said. “Besides, per your orders, I had your underlings erase all the evidence. With nothing to go on, the kids gave up and left.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely. Maybe they’re talented for their age, but at the end of the day they’re just sheltered brats from an ivory tower. No real-world experience. People like that are always full of misplaced righteousness—and they’re the easiest to manipulate.”

“So... they’re gone?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Gone. Came to say goodbye this morning. Said they found nothing. Looked completely disheartened.” Farkas grinned. “My esteemed lady, since I’ve done so well... don’t you think I deserve a reward?”

"Heh... greedy human. You’ll get your reward soon enough. But for now, strike while the iron’s hot—wipe out the rest of this pathetic village tonight."